Personnel
| Engineering Research InstituteProfessor of PhotocatalysisRoom number: 25B10Telephone: +44 28 90368941 Email: j.byrne@ulster.ac.uk School of Engineering University of Ulster Jordanstown campus Shore Road Newtownabbey Co. Antrim BT37 0QB |
Profile/Research Interests
Research topics:
Tony is a Professor of Photocatalysis in the School of Engineering, is a core member of the Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials Research Institute and Head of Photocatalysis Research in NIBEC. He obtained his PhD in chemistry from Ulster in 1997 researching photocatalytic water treatment. Since then he has worked on a range of projects involving the photocatalytic treatment and purification of water, photoelectrolytic water splitting using solar energy, and the decontamination of surfaces. His main research interests lie in the fabrication, characterisation and application of photocatalytic materials. The photocatalysis group at Ulster have two main areas of interest 1. the photocatalytic treatment of water using solar energy, and 2. photocatalytic coatings for applications in Health Care. Byrne was lead scientist and Work Package Leader in the FP6 INCO-DEV Sodiswater Project aimed at the development of solar reactors for water disinfection for improving health in developing countries.
Achievements:
Tony has supervised 7 PhDs to completion. He has published widely and has identified novel areas for the application of photocatalysis. He has given key note and plenary lectures throughout the world.
Highly cited papers:
Byrne J.A., Eggins B.R., Brown N.M.D., McKinney B., and Rouse M., Immobilisation of TiO2 powder for the treatment of polluted water. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 1998, 17, pp 25-36. (Citations 169, 2008 Impact Factor 4.853)
Byrne J.A.,and Eggins B.R., Photoelectrochemistry of oxalate on particulate TiO2 electrodes. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 1998,457, pp 61-72. (Citations 65, 2008 Impact Factor 2.484)
Palmer F.L., Eggins B.R., and Byrne J.A., Photocatalytic treatment of humic substances in drinking water, Water Research, 1997, 31, pp 1223-1226. (Citations 57, 2008 Impact Factor 3.587)
Dunlop, P.S.M., Byrne,J.A., Manga, N., and Eggins, B.R., The photocatalytic removal of bacterial pollutants from drinking water, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 2002,148, pp 355–363. (Citations 64, 2008 Impact Factor 2.362)
Funding
‘Solar Disinfection of Water’ Royal Society International Collaboration Grant, Joint Funding Scheme with CSIR India, £24 k, 2010-2012, Dr JA Byrne (PI), Dr Rita Dodhapor, NEERI, India (Co-I)
‘Raman spectroscopy for assessing photocatalytic decontamination of protein’, SFI- North/South supplementary grant scheme, £51 k, 2008 -2009, Dr JA Byrne andDr Tia Keyes, Dublin City University
‘The optimisation and understanding of the role of new nanoparticle ceramics for use in high frequency capacitors’ START Invest Northern Ireland, £1,675,248, 2008-2012. Prof JAD McLaughlin (PI), Prof PD Maguire, Dr JA Byrne
Photocatalytic treatment of waste water, NATO – research link scheme, £5,800, 2008-2010, Dr JA Byrne (PI), Prof M El Azzouzi (Rabat University, Morocco)
‘SODISWATER: Solar Disinfection of Water for Application in Developing Countries or Emergency Situations’ EC FP6, Euro 2 million, 2006-2010, Dr JA Byrne (PI) at Ulster
‘Self organised titanium oxide nanotubes for biosensor array applications
Royal Society, £6,000, 2008 to 2010, Dr P Lemoine (PI), Dr JA Byrne, Dr Pascal Mailley(Grenoble, France)
‘Photocatalytic coatings for decontamination of prion contaminated surgical devices’, Department of Health UK, £ 139,000, 2004 to 2005, Prof JAD McLaughlin (PI), Dr JA Byrne, Dr IS Blair.
‘Prevention, detection and removal of pathogenic bacterial biofilms on medical implant surfaces.’ Ireland-Northern Ireland Co-operation Research Project Grants, Health Research Board (ROI) and R&D Office, NI Health and Social Services, £189415, 2003 to 2006, Dr ET McAdams (PI), Dr JA Byrne, (Dr Kevin McGuigan, RCSI, Ireland)
‘Photo-Electro-Bio-Catalytic Treatment of Drinking Water Supplies.’ EC FP5, £ 222,846, 2001 to 2004, Dr JA Byrne(PI taking over from Dr Eggins), Dr G McMullan, Prof R Marchant.
‘Hybrid System for CO2 Conversion by Solar Energy in a Photoelectrochemical Device COCON.’ EC FP5, £ 109,370, 2000 to 2003, Dr BR Eggins and Dr JA Byrne (PI taking over from Dr Eggins)
Patents:
Byrne, J.A., Multiple Tube Photocatalytic Reactor for the Treatment of Water. UK Patent Application No 0415845.7. 22 July 2004 (dropped to be refiled).
Byrne J.A., Personal UVR Sensor. UK Patent Application No 0302622.6, filed 6 February 2003 (dropped February 2004)
Responsibilities
Teaching:
Tony is Course Director of the new BEng Honours Clean Technology with Diploma in Industrial Studies. He led the course planning team to develop this innovative programme which is the first of its kind in the UK or Ireland. As well as developing and teaching new modules in Clean Technology, he teaches modules in Nanotechnology and Environmental Engineering to final year Engineering students. He also contributes to MSc modules in Micro and Nano Fabrication and Micro and Nano Devices.
Committees:
Vice Chairperson of the Royal Society of Chemistry Northern Ireland Section Trust;
Committee Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry Special Interest Group
Editorial boards:
Guest Editor for Special Edition of the International Journal of Photoenergy entitled ‘Nanotechnology in Solar Energy Applications’
Awards
Leader of winning team in Investment Belfast £25 k Business Plan Award, 2003
Ahmed, M and Byrne, JA (2012) Effect of surface structure and wettability of DLC and N-DLC thin films on adsorption of glycine. Applied Surface Science, 258 (12). p. 5166. [Journal article]
Ahmed, Mukhtar H., Byrne, John and McLaughlin, JAD (2012) Evaluation of glycine adsorption on diamond like carbon (DLC) and fluorinated DLC deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD). Surface and Coatings Technology, 209 . pp. 8-14. [Journal article]
Lui, G, Han, C, Pelaez, M, Zhu, D, Liao, S, Likodimos, V, Ioannidis, N, Kontos, AG, Falaras, P, Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA and Dionysiou, DD (2012) Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic evaluation of visible light activated C-doped TiO2 nanoparticles. Nanotechnology, 23 . pp. 294003-294013. [Journal article]
Pelaez, M, Falaras, F, Kontos , AG, de la Cruz, AA, O’Shea, K, Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA and Dionysiou, DD (2012) A comparative study on the removal of cylindrospermopsin and microcystins from water with NF-TiO2-P25 composite films with visible and UV-vis light photocatalytic activity. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 121-122 . pp. 30-39. [Journal article]
Pelaez, M, Han, C, Choi, H, Sharma, V, Byrne, JA, Dunlop, PSM, Romanos, G, Falaras, P and Dionysiou, DD (2012) Nanotechnology, Environmental Applications. In: The Encyclopedia of Environmetrics. John Wiley & Sons, p. 1. ISBN 978-0-4709-7388-2 [Book section]
Pelaez, M, Nolan, NT, Pillai, SC, Seery, MK, Falaras, P, Kontos, AG, Dunlop, PSM, Hamilton, JWJ, Byrne, JA, O'Shea, K, Entezari, MH. and Dionysiou, DD (2012) A review on the visible light active titanium dioxide photocatalysts for environmental applications. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 125 . pp. 331-349. [Journal article]
Bandala, ER, Gonzalez , L, de la Hoz , F, Pelaez , MA, Dionysiou , DD, Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA and Sanchez , JL (2011) Application of azo dyes as dosimetric indicators for enhanced photocatalytic solar disinfection (ENPHOSODIS). Journal of Photochemistry & Photobiology, A: Chemistry, 218 . pp. 185-191. [Journal article]
Byrne, JA, Dionysiou, DD, Dunlop, PSM, Hamilton, JWJ, O'Shea, K, Peleaz, M and Pillai, SC (2011) Electrochemical Characterization of Nitrogen Doped Titanium for Visible Light Applications. In: 3rd International Conference from Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials to Nanodevices and Nanosystems (IC4N), Crete, Greece. *. [Conference contribution]
Byrne, JA, Dionysiou, DD, Dunlop, PSM, Hamilton, JWJ, O'Shea, K, Peleaz, M and Pillai, SC (2011) Photoelectrochemistry of Visible Light Active Photocatalytic Materials. In: JeP 2011, Bordeaux, France. *. 1 pp. [Conference contribution]
Byrne, JA and Dunlop, PSM (2011) Photocatalytic Disinfection of Water and Surfaces. In: 3rd International Conference from Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials to Nanodevices and Nanosystems (IC4N), Crete, Greece. *. [Conference contribution]
Byrne, JA and Dunlop, PSM (2011) Solar Disinfection of Water for Developing Countries. In: International Workshop on Advances in Disinfection Technologies, Nagpur, India. *. [Conference contribution]
Byrne, JA, Fernandez-Ibañez, PA, Dunlop, PSM, Alrousan, DMA and Hamilton, JWJ (2011) Photocatalytic Enhancement for Solar Disinfection of Water: A Review. International Journal of Photoenergy, 2011 (Article ID 798051). pp. 1-12. [Journal article]
Byrne, JA and Hamilton, JWJ (2011) Adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of human serum albumin on TiO2 and Ag–TiO2 films. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 222 (1). p. 123. [Journal article]
Dunlop, PSM and Byrne, JA (2011) Enhancing SODIS - Increasing Reactor Volume and Providiing Quality Assurance. In: International Workshop on Solar Water Disinfection - SODIS, Fortaleza, Brazil. *. [Conference contribution]
Dunlop, PSM and Byrne, JA (2011) Photocatalytic Disinfection - A Review. In: International Workshop on Advances in Disinfection Technologies, Nagpur, India. *. [Conference contribution]
Dunlop, PSM, Ciavola, M, Rizzo, L and Byrne, JA (2011) Inactivation and injury assessment of Escherichia coli during solar and photocatalytic disinfection in LDPE bags. Chemosphere, 85 (7). pp. 1160-1166. [Journal article]
Polo-López, MI, Ubomba-Jaswa, E, Navntoft, C, GarcÃa-Fernández, IG, Dunlop, PSM, Schmid, M, Byrne, JA and McGuigan, KG (2011) Elimination of water pathogens with solar radiation using an automatedsequential batch CPC reactor. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 196 . pp. 16-21. [Journal article]
Wadhwa, S, Hamilton, JWJ, Dunlop, PSM, Dickinson, C and Byrne, JA (2011) Effect of post-annealing on the photocatalytic activity of hydrothermally synthesised titania nanotubes. Journal of Advanced Oxidation Technologies, 14 (1). pp. 147-157. [Journal article]
Wadhwa, S, Rea, C, O'Hare, P, Mathur, A, Roy, SS, Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA, Burke, GA, Meenan, BJ and McLaughlin, JAD (2011) Comparative in vitro cytotoxicity study of carbon nanotubes and titania nanostructures on human lung epithelial cells. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 191 . pp. 56-61. [Journal article]
Alrousan, D, Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA, Fernandez-Ibanez, P, Magee, E and Sheeran, CP (2010) Photocatalytic Disinfection of Water and Surfaces. In: 15th International Conference on TiO2 Photocatalysis: Fundamentals & Applications, San Diego, USA. *. [Conference contribution]
Dunlop, PSM and Byrne, JA (2010) Water Disinfection in Developing Countries. In: Water, Wastewater and Soil Treatment by Advanced Oxidation Processes. University of Salerno, p. 8. ISBN 978-1-4461-2967-8 [Book section]
Dunlop, PSM and Byrne, JA (2010) Water Disinfection in Developing Countries. In: Water, Wastewater and Soil Treatment by Advanced Oxidation Processes, Salerno, Italy. *. [Conference contribution]
Dunlop, PSM, Galdi, A, McMurray, TA, Hamilton, JWJ, Rizzo, L and Byrne, JA (2010) Comparison of Photocatalytic Activities of Commercial Titanium Dioxide Powders Immobilised on Glass Substrates. JOURNAL OF ADVANCED OXIDATION TECHNOLOGIES, 13 (1). pp. 99-106. [Journal article]
Dunlop, PSM, Sheeran, C, Byrne, JA, McMahon, MAS, Boyle, M and McGuigan, K (2010) Inactivation of clinically relevant pathogens by photocatalytic coatings. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 216 . pp. 303-310. [Journal article]
Sunnotel, O, Verdoold, R, Dunlop, PSM, Snelling, WJ, Lowery, C, Dooley, J, Moore, JE and Byrne, JA (2010) Photocatalytic inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum on nanostructured titanium dioxide films. Journal of Water and Health, 08 (1). p. 83. [Journal article]
Weber, Sonja, Waterman, Niall, Jossinet, Jacques, Byrne, JA, Chantrey, Jonquille, Alam, Shabana, So, Karen, Bush, Jim, O'Kane, Sharon and McAdams, Eric T (2010) Remote wound monitoring of chronic ulcers. IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, 14 (2). pp. 371-7. [Journal article]
Ahmed, M, Byrne, JA and McLaughlin, JAD (2009) Glycine Adsorption onto DLC and N-DLC Thin Films Studied by XPS and AFM. e-Journal of Surface Science and Nanotechnology, 7 . pp. 217-224. [Journal article]
Alrousan, DMA, Dunlop, PSM, McMurray, TA and Byrne, JA (2009) Photocatalytic inactivation of E. coli in surface water using immobilised nanoparticle TiO2 films. Water Research, 43 (1). p. 47. [Journal article]
Dale, GR, Hamilton, JWJ, Dunlop, PSM and Byrne, JA (2009) Electrochemically assisted photocatalysis on anodic titania nanotubes. Current Topics in Electrochemistry, 14 . pp. 89-97. [Journal article]
Dale, GR, Hamilton, JWJ, Dunlop, PSM, Lemoine, P and Byrne, JA (2009) Electrochemical Growth of Titanium Oxide Nanotubes: The Effect of Surface Roughness and Applied Potential. Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 9 (7). p. 4215. [Journal article]
Dunlop, PSM, Alrousan, DM, Polo-Lopez, MI, Fernandez-Ibanez, P and Byrne, JA (2009) Photocatalytic enhancement of solar water disinfection for application in developing regions. In: International Workshop on Urbanisation, Land Use, Land Degradation, and Environment, Denizli, Turkey. NAM S&T Centre; Pamukkale University. 7 pp. [Conference contribution]
Mathur, A, Wadhwa, S, Byrne, JA, Roy, SS and McLaughlin, JAD (2009) Experimental Demonstration of Hydrophobicity Variation in Carbon Nanotubes by Surface Modifications. e-Journal of Surface Science and Nanotechnology, 7 . pp. 334-336. [Journal article]
O'Neill, Sonja, Vonhoff, Philipp A, Owens, FJ, Byrne, JA and McAdams, Eric T (2009) Development of a multi-electrode electrical stimulation device to improve chronic wound healing. In: Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Minneapolis. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Vol 2009 4 pp. [Conference contribution]
Vigil, E, Dixon, D, Hamilton, JWJ and Byrne, JA (2009) Deposition of TiO2 thin films on steel using a microwave activated chemical bath. SURFACE & COATINGS TECHNOLOGY, 203 (23). pp. 3614-3617. [Journal article]
Dunlop, PSM, McMurray, TA, Hamilton, JWJ and Byrne, JA (2008) Photocatalytic inactivation of Clostridium perfringens spores on TiO2 electrodes. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 196 (1). p. 113. [Journal article]
Hamilton, JWJ, Byrne, JA, Dunlop, PSM and Brown, NMD (2008) Photo-Oxidation of Water Using Nanocrystalline Tungsten Oxide under Visible Light. International Journal of Photoenergy, 2008 . p. 1. [Journal article]
Hamilton, JWJ, Byrne, JA, McCullagh, C and Dunlop, PSM (2008) Electrochemical Investigation of Doped Titanium Dioxide. International Journal of Photoenergy, 2008 . p. 1. [Journal article]
Oliver, LM, McAdams, ET, Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA, Blair, IS, Boyle, MA and McGuigan, KG (2008) Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy as a Powerful Analytical Tool for Monitoring Microbiological Growth on Medical Implants. In: Encyclopedia of Healthcare Information Systems. Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global), pp. 487-496. ISBN 1599048892 [Book section]
Selcuk, H, Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA and Anderson, MA (2007) Control of Disinfection By-Products in Drinking Water Systems - Chapter 7.5: Photoelectrocatalytic Treatment and Disinfection By-Products Formation. In: UNSPECIFIED Nova Science Publishers , ISBN 1-60021-322-7 [Book section]
Dunlop, PSM and Byrne, JA (2006) An impedimetric sensor for monitoring the growth of Staplylococcus epidermidis. Medicine and Biology Society, 1 . pp. 4599-4602. [Journal article]
McMurray, TA, Dunlop, PSM and Byrne, JA (2006) The photocatalytic degradation of atrazine on nanoparticulate TiO2 films. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 182 (1). p. 43. [Journal article]
Oliver, LM, Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA, Blair, IS, Boyle, MA, McGuigan, KG and McAdams, ET (2006) An impedimetric sensor for monitoring the growth of Staplylococcus epidermidis. In: 2006 28th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Vols 1-15. UNSPECIFIED. 4 pp. [Conference contribution]
Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA, Hamilton, JWJ, Donaldson, A, Blair, IS, McAdams, ET and McLaughlin, JAD (2005) Nanostructured Titanium Dioxide Films for Self-cleaning and Self-decontaminating Surfaces. In: Nano and Hybrid Coatings. The Paint Research Association, P6-1-P6-6. ISBN 0-9543164-6-0 [Book section]
Dunlop, PSM, Oliver, L, Byrne, JA and McAdams, ET (2005) Detection and removal of pathogenic biofilms on medical implant surfaces. In: Personalised Health Management Systems, The Integration of Innovative Sensing, Textile, Information and Communication Technologies. Studies in Health Technology and nInformatics, p. 1. ISBN 1-58603-565-7 [Book section]
McMurray, TA, Byrne, JA, Dunlop, PSM and McAdams, ET (2005) Photocatalytic and electrochemically assisted photocatalytic oxidation of formic acid on TiO2 films under UVA and UVB irradiation. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, 35 (7-8). p. 723. [Journal article]
Coleman, HM, Routledge, EJ, Sumpter, JP, Eggins, BR and Byrne, JA (2004) Rapid loss of estrogenicity of steroid estrogens by UVA photolysis and photocatalysis over an immobilised titanium dioxide catalyst. WATER RESEARCH, 38 (14-15). pp. 3233-3240. [Journal article]
McMurray , T, Byrne, JA, Dunlop, PSM, Winkelman, JGM, Eggins, BR and McAdams, ET (2004) Intrinsic kinetics of photocatalytic oxidation of formic and oxalic acid on immobilised TiO2 films. Applied Catalysis A: General, 262 (1). p. 105. [Journal article]
Sekler, MS, Levi, Y, Polyak, B, Novoa, A, Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA and Marks, RS (2004) Monitoring genotoxicity during the photocatalytic degradation ofp-nitrophenol. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 24 (5). p. 395. [Journal article]
Byrne, JA, Davidson, A, Dunlop, PSM and Eggins, BR (2002) Water treatment using nano-crystalline TiO2 electrodes. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY A-CHEMISTRY, 148 (1-3, Sp. Iss. SI). pp. 365-374. [Journal article]
Dunlop, PSM, Byrne, JA, Manga, N and Eggins, BR (2002) The photocatalytic removal of bacterial pollutants from drinking water. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY A-CHEMISTRY, 148 (1-3, Sp. Iss. SI). pp. 355-363. [Journal article]
Coleman, HM, Eggins, BR, Byrne, JA, Palmer, FL and King, E (2000) Photocatalytic degradation of 17-beta-oestradiol on immobilised TiO2. APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL, 24 (1). L1-L5. [Journal article]
Byrne, JA, Eggins, BR, Byers, W and Brown, NMD (1999) Photoelectrochemical cell for the combined photocatalytic oxidation of organic pollutants and the recovery of metals from waste waters. APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL, 20 (2). L85-L89. [Journal article]
Byrne, JA and Eggins, BR (1998) Photoelectrochemistry of oxalate on particulate TiO2 electrodes. JOURNAL OF ELECTROANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, 457 (1-2). pp. 61-72. [Journal article]
Byrne, JA, Eggins, BR, Brown, NMD, McKinney, B and Rouse, M (1998) Immobilisation of TiO2 powder for the treatment of polluted water. APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL, 17 (1-2). pp. 25-36. [Journal article]
Byrne, JA, Eggins, BR, Linquette-Mailley, S and Dunlop, PSM (1998) The effect of hole acceptors on the photocurrent response of particulate TiO2 anodes. ANALYST, 123 (10). pp. 2007-2012. [Journal article]
Eggins, BR, Palmer, FL and Byrne, JA (1997) Photocatalytic treatment of humic substances in drinking water. WATER RESEARCH, 31 (5). pp. 1223-1226. [Journal article]





